TRP: Jasper and Raef (Shattered Glass)
Mink: [Day: 201.' '''Setting:' Somewhere out in the courtyard.] Early morning sunlight flooded the room, lighting it in a rosy glow. It was beautiful, but he didn't feel it. His heart ached as it pumped steadily and his head felt heavy with the dream that had drifted away to change into another. That one hadn't ended well either, ending in crackling flames and roaring thunder. Raef took a deep, shuddering breath before he untangled himself from Griffin, pausing only to tuck a strand of hair behind Griffin's ear and to place a soft kiss to his forehead. He drew away quickly to dress into a pair of pants (his own), a shirt (Griffin's), and boots (his own). Once he was settled he left the room, but the dream followed at his heels. ...I"ll give you back your proper god-given husband... He should have told Bloodgrut to fuck off earlier. Why did you leave me? He hadn't. I don't want here. He didn't know what he could do. Raef... The table clattered loudly in the courtyard, empty and half-empty glasses shattering on the grass and against the wood. Pain stabbed sharply through him and the world spun around him before he was staring up at the bright blue sky. Raef didn't know how he had gotten outside, trying to outrun the dream; he laid there and watched as the clouds lazily moved above him and the sweet smell of wine floated around him. '''Coyote: When Jasper woke up half-naked in bed with Larkin Basha, her first thought was, Nice. And her second thought was, Oh god. She stared down at herself . Her dress was missing— maybe it’d, uh, just gotten too hot and she’d shucked it off? Sure. Sure. But, huh. Were those nail scratches or had she stumbled into a briar bush? Were those her leggings on the floor? Io’s tits, how had they gotten ripped apart? Whose room was this? Why were there several empty bottles of vodka on the floor? And whose clothes were those in the corner? They were too big for Larkin and they weren’t Jasper’s. Jasper crawled out of bed as stealthily as possible. Oh, god. Oh, man. If she slept with Larkin fucking Basha and then didn’t even get to remember it, she was gonna be so fucking pissed. Larkin looked adorable on the bed. Her hair mussed, sticking up straight in different directions. God. She’d probably stab Jasper for calling her adorable, though. So fucking cool. Jasper grabbed her dress and tip-toed out before Larkin could wake up. . Oh god, she thought, suddenly paralyzed. She’d left her weapon’s belt inside. God. Fuck. She’d just have to... get it later. She dressed as fast as she could, then headed outside. Then she froze. Raef was outside, bleeding, staring into the middle distance. “Raef?” she called in a low voice. She did a quick check for enemies. Mink: The grass was cold and frozen from the night before''' and the wine was starting to stick to his clothes - he was going to have to change - but Raef didn't bother moving. If he moved, he would think and he didn't want to fucking think anymore. He was fine right here where he was with whatever cuts and bruises he had gotten for tripping into the table. He still hadn't moved when he heard Jasper call his name softly. He had to look a fucking sight lying there in a mess. "'m fine," he mumbled. He still didn't get up. What a fucking great way to be found after one of the best nights of his life. '''Coyote: Jasper turned slowly in a circle. Didn’t look like anybody was around to threaten her pal. Probably not much she could do without weapons, anyway. She could punch things. God, though, this didn’t seem like a punching problem. Jasper crouched down on the grass. “Raef, what— what happened to your arm?” There was a piece of glass sticking out of it. “Fuck, man. How’d you do that?” She chuckled, still a bit drunk from the previous night. Fuckin’ Raef. Mink: Jasper looked disheveled, but she still looked nice and she was still a welcome sight.' '''He arched an eyebrow at the question before he looked down at his arm...oh.' And he was just going to fucking lay there. "I fell." Raef made himself sit up, wincing a little from the movement. There were shards of glass everywhere....and he was just going to fucking lay there. His face felt hot again and he busied himself with pulling out the piece of glass and pressing down on the wound with the arm of Griffin's shirt. He was going to have to explain why he was bleeding to him and why he was covered in wine and cuts.He wiped at his face, stemming the tears before they fell. '''Coyote: Jasper knelt down in the grass. She tore off a piece of her skirt and waggled her fingers for Raef to give her his arm. “Alright, alright. Let me guess what happened, and then you can say yes or no.” Mink: Raef snorted softly and held out his arm for Jasper to look at. "Shoot." Coyote: “Alright.” Jasper began winding the bandage around his arm. “Turns out your boyfriend— sorry, husband now, I guess— is a sleeper agent for Bloodgrut, and his hidden training triggered when you slept together for the first time on your wedding night. He tried to murder you with a broken bottle.” Mink: Raef stared for a moment before cracking a smile, laughing despite the night before.' '"That'd be something," he said, still laughing softly. "I think I can fend off a broken bottle." His nose wrinkled as the bandage tightened. "Maybe." Coyote: “Alright. Theory number two,” Jasper said. “Turns out Az isn’t really dead. He showed up on your wedding night and challenged Griffin to a duel to the death. Winner gets to be your husband.” Mink: "Not quite," Raef answered,smiling softly, almost painfully.' '''It wasn't close, not really.' But...He worried his tongue. "...Az would love Griffin." Why did you leave me? His jaw tightened. "Bloodgrut has Az, Jasper." '''Coyote: Jasper looked up sharply. She studied Raef’s face. “Raef...” She rested her hand on Raef’s back. “Az is dead.” Mink: "I know." God, did he fucking know.' '''He ran his hands over his face. "...but he dug him up..." '''Coyote:' “Then he’s got a fuckin’ body,” Jasper said carelessly. “What’s it matter?” Mink: Raef shot Jasper a pained look. "He can bring him back!" he snapped.' '''The anger vanished...he could bring him back...he bit back a sob. "...he can hurt him again..." '''Coyote:' Aw no. Raef was upset. "Hey, hey," Jasper said. Except she didn't have anything else to say, there. She wasn't great at comforting people. She didn't know what to do. Somebody else usually did this part for her. "Raef, what the hell happened?" she said. "I mean... you were having a nice night last night, I thought. Did Bloodgrut come to the wedding?" Mink: "It was a great fucking night." Until he went to sleep.' '''He rubbed at his eyes, ignoring the rawness.' The physical pain felt good for the moment - it felt better than the heaviness in his chest and the twisting in his sleep. "He did that fucking thing Goro did and fucking interrupted a great fucking dream." He sounded bitter, but he couldn't stop himself. He hung his head. "...he has Az..." It was all he could think about. Tears dripped down to his lap. '''Coyote: Jasper was silent for a moment, torn. God, she fucking hated seeing Raef all upset. Whenever she was upset, he usually just sat quietly with her, didn't make her talk or anything. She wondered if that would work here, or if he'd want to talk about it. She honestly had no fucking clue. She wasn't good at this emotional shit. Usually Raef was the good, rational, stable one. She started picking glass out of the rest of it, not caring much that it cut her fingers. "We can kill him," Jasper said. Fucking useless, she knew. That's all she was really good for: hitting things. Okay. She couldn't do that right now, though. She needed to... be the person with the plan, the ideas, the words and shit. "We can kill him so hard he regrets ever talking to you." God. Also not good. Mink: "Yeah..." Raef sniffed a little, watching Jasper as she pulled out the remaining pieces. "...yeah..." They could kill him....they'd kill him, but...but...He squeezed his eyes shut.' '''That didn't help him. "...what if I..." He ran a hand through his hair, ruffling the tangled mess before his hand fell away. "...what if...what if... I'm not strong enough..." '''Coyote:' “Then we die together, I s’pose,” Jasper said. She reached up and started combing through his hair with her fingers, straightening it out. “That’s just how it is. Hey, that’s how it’s always been, right? Even if we don’t win, we’re gonna make that fucker sorry, Raef. Hell— you already made him sorry. Griffin ran away from that fucker, and you gave Griffin a place to stay, you gave him support, you made him strong.” Mink: Her fingers combing through his hair made Raef's eyes shut; it felt good - calming.' '''He didn't know how she was this positive...this strong.' He was terrified. Everything felt like it was standing on the edge of a knife, waiting for the blade to tilt one way or the other. But Jasper was strong.She was positive. She always had been, and he sometimes envied her that. He wanted some of that strength but all he was was terrified. Terrified that he couldn't do anything, that he would fail everyone because of his selfish needs...that he couldn't protect Griffin. He sniffed, drawing his knees up towards his chest. "I'm so fucking scared I can't...I can't help him, Jasper," he whispered, reaching up to take her hand in his. He just held it, resting his forehead against the back. "...J've...I-I've failed so many fucking people...fucking Aesar...Azrael...Gwydion...I can't...I can't fail Griffin." His grip tightened on her hand, holding onto her as if she were a lifeline. "I can't." '''Coyote: “Hey. You won’t,” Jasper said. It was bitterly cold out, still, so she wrapped her arms around him, remembering all the times she’d come to him drunk and bawling about some problem or another. “Look, Griffin goddamn chose this life with you. As soon as we’re done with the Sanguines— as soon as we’re done with that Queen— we’ll go fuck Bloodgrut up, alright? We’ll track him down and figure shit out. Promise.” Mink: "...yeah...okay...yeah..." Raef mumbled, sliding his arms around Jasper just as she held him, but it didn't stop the tears.' '''He held her close as he wept against her, probably staining her dress with the wine, blood, and tears. It was only when he registered the coolness of her skin against his own that he tried to pull himself together.' He was fine just sitting there in the cold, but she was in a dress. He drew back enough to rub at his sore and tired eyes. "C'mon...it's fucking cold." He had to drag himself up to his feet, wincing again as his body protested. God, what the fuck was he going to tell Griffin. He rubbed his face again as he helped Jasper up. "Where're you staying?" '''Coyote: "Was sleeping in a spare room on that pirate ship," Jasper admitted. "Thinking about bunking somewhere else, but-- goddamn, y'know, this castle is so fucking fancy, feels weird as hell. I figured I'd take the tower room, but it's fucked up now." It reminded her of the opulent rooms back in Moorland. It was weird to occasionally remember that she was a noble-- or had been, she supposed. Not so much anymore, since she'd run off and become a ragamuffin. Mink: Raef glanced towards the tower; he didn't know what the fuck happened to it.' '''Probably Goro or Mishka.' He snorted softly in mild amusement. "Let's get your shit from the ship and you can bunk with us 'til the tower's fixed," he said. She didn't need to be staying out on the ship by herself with Sugar - Nixie - leaving. He pulled at his clothes as he started the walk. "...y'know...I don't know how you fucking do it, Jasper." '''Coyote: "Do what?" Mink: He made a vague gesture towards her and smiled. "This.' '''You're just...fucking positive and strong and... just..." He shrugged.'When he had found her with the spiders he hadn't known what to make of her, but she had made him smile for the first time in years. He had been - still was, if he was fucking honest with himself - bitter and jaded. Then she, while still intoxicated from venom, had just been her goddamn self and the world seemed a little less shitty. "...I don't... you're great." '''Coyote: "Yeah, true, I am fucking great," Jasper said. She heaved herself up. She was pretty sure she'd done a terrible job on that bandage. "C'mon. Let's get you to that cleric. The actual cleric, not the shady one." Mink: It took him a moment to realize who she was talking about: Luci, Hansel's other kid.' '"Nah.' '''I'll fix it when I get to the room." She didn't need to help him fix a few cuts and scrapes.' He'd live. "Let's go get your shit and I'll make you breakfast." '''Mink: End Mink: [Title: Shattered Glass. Summary: Raef takes a spill and Jasper finds him.' '''Raef confides in her about the dream, Az, and his worries.''''She says they'll kill Bloodgrut, and they will.] Category:Text Roleplay